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Top Five Reasons You should not Play Defense Of The Ancients (DOTA)

There are hundreds of reasons that I can think not to play Defense of the Ancient but for this purpose, I will just list top five reasons which I believe you should know. If you do not play DOTA yet, then you should think twice before you face that computer monitor. Likewise, if you are already playing DOTA, then it is time to make a stand and stop the game from controlling you.

What is Defense of the Ancient (DOTA)?

While it is quite rare for people not to hear about DOTA, it is still imperative to describe this game for those uninformed ones. Defense of the Ancients started to be just a map expansion of Warcraft: Reign of Chaos. The game is played by selecting a “Hero” to destroy the “ancient” of the opposing side. The ancients are located at the two opposite corners across the map. The Hero you selected will either play with other human players or computer-controlled Heroes.

There is more to say about what DOTA is but enough about its definition. As a long-time gamer, you might actually give more information than what I mentioned here. But this is something that you should not be proud of. Read the following list of top five reasons you should not play DOTA.

No. 5 Reason: It is a Waste of Time and Money

Video games are like burning money.

Most, if not all, people who play DOTA do not get any benefits from DOTA. Or if they really get anything from it, the disadvantages of playing DOTA greatly outweigh the advantages. If there is someone who is gaining from this game, it is the developer and company behind it. At the end of each game, no one really won because everyone lost their money and precious time. Remember, time is a priceless commodity. When time is gone, it is gone forever. You cannot bring it back. It is estimated that an average game of DOTA will last for 45 minutes. That is 45 minutes of your life lost and gone FOREVER. If you used that for other productive things such as studying or learning new things, you could have been a better person at the end of 45 minutes!

No. 4 Reason: It is Harmful to your Health

Playing video games can be detrimental to your health.

Playing countless hours of DOTA deprive you of being an active person. You will just burn your butt and seat and not calories and fats. Playing DOTA is part of a sedentary lifestyle. Instead of going outside your home, to smell the roses, to play ball with your friends, or to explore the world, you are glued in front of the computer monitor and trapped in an imaginary world of DOTA. Instead of having your own adventure, you are playing the adventure of another character — in this case, your hero.

Spending too much time playing DOTA will lead to cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, muscular atrophy, visual problems, musculoskeletal problems, decreased immunity, and other diseases caused by sedentary lifestyle.

No. 3 Reason: It Destroys your Mental and Emotional Stability

Video games can deprive you of more productive time.

Let’s face it: you are not the same person when you get really addicted. I experienced this myself when I was addicted to the game. I thought playing DOTA with my friends is just a way to have quality time with each other, but I was wrong. My friends suddenly transform when they get their hands on the keyboard! They started swearing and trash talking each other. Bullying and abusing weaker players are frightfully very common. By the time we get out from the computer shop, bitterness, blaming, and bullying does not stop. This is one of the main reasons that I and my friends decided not to play the game anymore. DOTA is not fun, it is frustrating and humiliating.

For students, the time they burned in playing DOTA deprives them of studying time. Instead of reading books, they will memorize skills, strategies, and killing methods in DOTA. Because of the stress being brought by DOTA, they become irritable and forget their real priorities in life.

No. 2 Reason: It is Addictive

Video games is a hard addiction to break.

If you cannot control yourself from playing DOTA and you find your activities of daily life greatly being impaired because of DOTA, then welcome to the addiction club! Playing DOTA is a slippery road. Once you started to play it, there is no telling if you can still stop. Since there are over a hundred of heroes to choose from and probably millions of strategies to try out, you might just get curious to try each of them! Not to mention the regular updates being made with its map, you will find more reasons not to stop. The more you play it, the more you get addicted; plain and simple.

In its basic form, playing DOTA is the same as being addicted to illegal drugs though it is not illegal to play it. Just you do not feel immediate negative effects when you play the game does not mean you will escape the compound and cumulative effects of DOTA.

No. 1 Reason: It is A Product of Evil

Most characters in DOTA are derived from ancient paganism.

Many might feel uncomfortable with the top one reason of not playing DOTA, but this is the truth. I hope I do not offend anyone but to lead them to change because DOTA will not get them anywhere. I stated that DOTA is a product of EVIL because it contains many elements that are just against the teaching of the Bible. Almost all the characters of DOTA are of the dark side which God said we should not have anything to do with them. Many might not notice it, but the “Ancients” mentioned in the Bible refers to God the father. The game is actually commanding you to destroy God and His way of life. Each time we play DOTA is also a time we are feeding our minds with ungodly things. The expressions of each hero and the exclamation stated when you kill someone is a blunt evidence of swearing and an encouragement to kill more and more!

God gave us equal time each day, 24 hours. He wants us to use it for His glory and honor and not to waste it with a diabolical game. The negative effects of DOTA are real and it can affect you whether you know it or not. It is time to stop playing DOTA. It is time to MAKE A STAND! Time to make a change and the change will start in you!

These are just some of the reasons that you need to stop playing DOTA. If you have more reasons, feel free to comment and convince others to stop as well. What’s your reason?

Here are helpful books to help you overcome addiction to video games and others:

I would like to point out one thing. The word “ancient” in the Bible is never ascribed to God, or any Deity. Ancient is used as a way to describe people older than the assumed age of the author (such as in Psalms 119:100 [KJV], Jeremiah 19:1 [KJV], Ezekiel 8:12 [KJV], Isaiah 24:23 [ERV]), and once in Samuel (1 Samuel 24:13) as a way to describe historical populations.

Actually while I do agree that many of the characters portrayed in Dota have direct references to evil, such as heros like Doom who is the devil himself, shadow fiend, lifestealer etc.. I don’t think the game itself is evil or promoting it. For instance an average game of dota might take 45mins, but an average hollywood movie take 2.30hrs and are usually filled with violence, sexual scenes and paganistic views. Reading a novel will take countless hours but what do you gain out of that? just information about fictional characters written by an authors imagination. Even a good thing like going on a drive to the countryside can be looked at in a negative lighting, it is burning fuel, wearing out your car, taking up your time and for what? just to see the outdoors? so i don’t think Dota is inherently evil although as a Christian I find it a dilemma when I play hero’s like Doom (who’s dialogues include, welcome to the inferno, hell of earth etc), I don’t think enjoying playing the game at moderate levels is fine. I have always enjoyed games and even been addicted to some in my teen, but I still went on to achieve a first class degree (i quit gaming for that purpose) and after my degree I find myself playing games again while I wait for my job to begin in a few months. I think there is a season for everything, like how it is mentioned in the Book of Ecclesiastes. I went through a season of addiction to gaming, a season of academic achievements, a season of gaming again etc. etc. In all these seasons, it is important to have God as your No. 1 in your life and you will sail through safely.

I understand that you played this game. I also did and been hooked to this game. Looking back, it is something that I can’t be proud of nor be thankful for. I just lost precious moments in my life which I can’t never take back.

I recognize that it is very difficult to abstain from all forms of evil, especially if we are bombarded and surrounded by it. HOWEVER, God expects us to do our best with every ounce of our being to really avoid appearance of evil, including DOTA.

God, in His mercy, knows our hearts. He knows our motives. He is the one who will determine how much we really want to please Him. So in spite of all the evil things around us, as long as our heart is right with God and we know that we are doing our 100% and our best in following Him, God will surely be pleased with us.

Imagine living your life in fear or in hopeless desperation to please one man…. God. This one man that somehow lives in the skies has no empirical evidence that he has exists. That is the true sin here. Live the life YOU want, not what some mythical legend portrayed into a super powerful being that can never be disapproved. Science theories can always be disproved and improved upon, that’s how we know science is the building blocks of this universe, religion…. oh no you can NEVER prove religion wrong. It’s impossible it HAS to be correct (sarcasm).

As the world advances, modern age becomes more modern. Look at the statistics, the number of religious persons is dropping, year after year after year.

The main reason i like to think is, why spend your life trying to please one imaginary being when you can spend your life trying to please yourself and make yourself happy and content. Life is too short to be doing otherwise. It’s not like your going to get out alive!

What makes you think that living God’s way of life is living in fear and hopelessness?

I, myself, can attest and prove that God’s way truly works. People think that they can live this life without God’s help and they can be their own god. That’s EXACTLY the reason this world is a mess. Imagine the whole world is following God’s law of love. It would be a PARADISE. Imagine if they will do the 10 commandments, then there will no need of prisons.

If people will just do what they think will make them happy, then this world will definitely be a chaotic place. What if a person’s happiness is to steal? What is a person’s happiness is to commit adultery? DO you think this world will become a better place? Think hard about it. People want to be happy but they are going the wrong direction. God’s way is the only thing that works – and that alone is another proof of His existence.

God exists and there are numerous evidences that can prove that. Of course, we see this world in different view and I guess that no matter what I say will not convince you and I am not here to convert anyone – that’s God’s prerogative.

Thankfully, God is very merciful and loving. Time will come when He will give everyone a chance to know Him and a chance to be part of His family. May God speed that day!

Well you said it, life is too short. So why not waste it on things of God rather than things that gives you temporary happiness. Focus on eternity, your soul, do you think when you die right now, its all over? Nope man, its just the beginning of eternity, id rather spend my eternity in the arms of God than spending eternity in hell.

i am inspired by your blog,and at the same time i am happy because i got already the negative side of playing DOTA,,,,,DOTA was my reseach topic for my research paper,,,,,,,,,i hope you will do some more blog so that i can follow,,,may god bless you and your family,,,,,,,,

Hi Joshua, I am glad to stumble upon your blog concerning this topic DOTA. As a parent, my teenage son is now in College and being away from home and having a laptop he can do almost anything he wants. Esp. playing his vdeo games…online.

I forwarded this article to him and hopefully he takes this seriously, if not, I really dont know what else to convince him how EVIL DOTA game is!

I know how to tough it is to get rid of DOTA especially if you have it a source of your income. However, we must realize that getting rid of DOTA from your business may also have positive outcome. We can trust God that He will take care of our needs when we follow Him.

Yes, getting rid of DOTA is hard, but it is not impossible. You can have the faith that God will take care of you and sure enough, there is nothing too hard for the Lord.

even the good characters (contain gods behavior like zeus) have minor powers.in this game Lucifer(doom)is stronger than zeus(who in dota wiki said is god) and many sarcasms in this game made (refers to god).but 90%
im sure they didnt made this game symbols on purpose cuse it was made by WC former player ”icefrog”.many symbols in this game were in warcraft

Honestly I did not read the whole blog/article that you have created. I just scanned the major points that you want to emphasize for the readers. I am a DOTA player since school and I can definitely say that all your points are 100% accurate, I really want to admit that it is so difficult to quit this game because I am so concerned with all of the time, money and effort that I spent playing on this game. But tonight I decided to quit it and there is no turning back. Please continue to inspire other people, God bless you brother. I am quiting every wordly games in my computer and will focus on what God wants me to do and my life.

HI, Joshua! I come across your article just this morning. It surely makes sense. Well, thank you. I guess i’ll have to use this in my sermons in various churches. This is reality to almost everybody, whether you’re a Christian or not. Thank you. God speed!

We must remember what the Apostle said. We cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the demons. We must be honest with ourselves. Does playing DOTA really help you overcome the evil? Why not spend our time on more productive things like studying God’s word?

No. 5 Reason: It is a Waste of Time and Money
It is only a waste of money if you spend money on it. Temptation to do so is high at the start but eventually it does off. Spending money on things we like is normal, key thing to note here is that we are good stewards of God’s blessing of money to us. Of course you can say that it’s better to spend money supporting missions and giving tithes to the church, but God gave us money to satisfy our earthly wants as well. If the definition of a good Christian is one that spends nothing on himself and everything for God then expect pastors to sell their houses and live in a one-room apartment, giving whatever that’s left to the church.
It is a waste of time if you spend too much time on it. Yes, God gave us 24hours each day and if dota is affecting our personal time with God then we should seriously think twice. But if it’s a casual game or two once in awhile? I dont think that hurts anyone, it could be an opportunity for you to spend with your friends enjoying something that you guys like. Some people bond better through sports, some through computer games, and having a stronger relationship with an unbeliever provides opportunity to spread the gospel as well.

No. 4 Reason: It is Harmful to your Health
It is not just dota which does this to you. Working adults having to sit in front of computers all day experience the same issues. People who spend too much time studying faces the same problems as well. Yet, few people actually point out that studying so much actually takes a toll on the body. Why? Because studying is seen as a good thing in society and the results outweigh the cost.

No. 3 Reason: It Destroys your Mental and Emotional Stability
I know there are toxic players and they flame people in the game. It hurts the people who receives all these comments and it destroys the mind of people who are constantly putting blame on others. Yet, this is up to an individual. How do you accept these comments? Hateful and hurtful comments like that don’t just come from the game, you see that on facebook, twitter and many other social medias as well.

No. 2 Reason: It is Addictive
Yes dota is addictive. And so are drugs, and sports and basically just about anything that a man can enjoy. The more enjoyment you derive from it, the more you want to do it. If a person is able to control himself and not let it affect his responsibilities and committment in life then why not?

No. 1 Reason: It is A Product of Evil
Perhaps things should be taken less literally. Killing in the game is only an objective. I have played for 12 years and i’ve never once thought that “ancients” refer to God the Father. “Ancients” in the game, to me, are just monsters and buildings. It comes down to your own interpretation of it and it differs between people. There are many evil references in the game, but a game is still a game. The ideologies and concepts in the game has never affected my belief and my faith. That is because to me, it’s only a game and it will always be a game, it will never be a thing that shapes my beliefs.

Conclusion
Don’t put so much emphasis on the game. The emphasis here should be on how we should be living our everyday lives. If we are living to serve God, naturally time and energy will be less spent on games like these. Many of the things in our lives can be an idol in our hearts, and that includes God’s ministry. What is God’s ministry if God is not in it? It is just another ministry to satisfy our own desires. Missionaries who place so much emphasis on spreading God’s Word but neglected his own family, is that wise? Perhaps not, because he has failed to take leadership to provide and protect what God has entrusted him with.

I just hope anyone who reads this, if you are a true believer of Jesus Christ then love Him with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Do that and your service will bring eternal glory to His Name.

Side note to the author of this post, it’ll be better if the focus was on the heart issue rather than the game itself. Everyone can always argue something to be good or bad. So go back to the root issue, address that and i’m sure it’ll help a lot more people in many other things apart from facing problems with dota.

Hi Brian, thanks for taking the time to leave your comment. I appreciate your answer.

We need to remember that Christians are held in a higher standard. The Bible admonishes us to be holy just as God is holy. Christ even tell us to strive for perfection just as God is perfect. However, it is obvious that as long as we are in the flesh, we can never fully and completely attain these goals. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t try anymore. God looks at the intent of our hearts. He sees whether we are truly striving to live by every word that comes out from His mouth.
With all these in mind, playing DOTA robs our precious God-given time on things that are unproductive. While yes, it is undeniable that we also do other unproductive things in other forms, but wouldn’t it be great to eliminate this habit from our system especially when we already know the hidden meaning of the game?

Of course, no one is perfect, but we are instructed to strive for perfection. We need to do our best to do everything for God’s glory and doing things that keep us closer to God.
Let’s be honest, there are a lot of people who play DOTA who don’t develop godly character by playing this game.
You yourself said that we need to prioritize God’s work instead. For that reason, I am sure that playing DOTA does not contribute to that work.

This blog does not say that I hate people who play DOTA. In fact, I have a lot of friends who play it. The main point of this blog is to refocus our minds to what really matter most in the end of our lives and that is to fear God, do His commandments, and develop His character.

Indeed, playing dota doesn’t help develop Godly character nor does it helps us in our walk with Christ. My main point here is why have an entire article on dota itself? It could be about addiction, time management, service towards our Lord. Yet you have an entire article fixated on one thing and giving all the reasons why it’s bad. Essentially what i got from your article is dota is bad and we can better use our time to serve God. If there was anything more than that, i’ll have to extrapolate to apply it to other things. Examples are there to support an idea, not the other way round.

Furthermore, how are people to learn from God if there’s only one point that points back to God. Point 2 to point 5 were all about how it negatively affects man and only point 1 was God directly referred to. So is this a man-centered article or a God-centered one?

Dota, like many other things, takes away a lot of our time, energy and effort. Yet it is up to an individual to make that decision to invest that time, energy and effort. Instead of focusing on why and how dota is bad for the Christian life, why not focus on man’s relationship with God? You don’t need a Christian to tell you the bad things about dota, but you need a Christian to tell you how to serve and worship God in our everyday lives.

Hi Brian, I am not focused on DOTA itself. If you personally know me or have taken the time to read my other articles, you know that I have written more on Christian living topics. This article does not sum up my blog. 🙂 Anyway, I think we both agree that we need to devote more of our time to God and doing His will.

I have recently returned from the valley of the shadow of death. All they did there was play DotA all day. They would chant “cyka blyat” and “buy wards noob”. I narrowly escaped from this hellish place.

Please continue spreading the good word Mr. Josh. You truly are an inspiration to us all.

We I respect what you said about Dota.. But try to look and at the positive side of the game not only in the negative.. You make the game become evil because some of heroes are evil.. But I disagree in No. 5 reason, it is sometimes not wasting money and time , but to enjoy playing and how about the professional players in dota, how can you say that they waste money and time if they can earn in just playing a game.. Dota is a Esport or Electronic Sports, it is like you wanted to be athlete in some sports , so you gonna waste 60% of your time playing and practicing your sports and become athlete. We are in 21st century so some people think that some computer games become sport so they called it Esports… So I dont think you waste your time or money playing dota , and dota is the reason why earn money by joining some tournaments..

Dota can be considered like an inhibitor to people, and you are basically suggesting this inhibitor function is evil. Isn’t being a pacifist essentially inhibiting your violent urges? What if someone needs Dota to inhibit their violent urges? I love meeting people through Dota and enjoy it greatly. Dota is like a mathematical and statistical simulation on a very large scale. If there is a 5% chance I will die if I join the army, and playing Dota helped me recognize that 5% is too much risk, then Dota may have saved my life. There are a million ways I can think of that Dota does good.

For a compulsive gambler, Dota is a better alternative than to losing thousands of dollars to the casino. Why are you focusing on villainizing dota when there are millions more truly wasting their lives smoking cigarettes in casinos and playing slot machines?

Hi Zach, there’s no doubt that there are more destructive behavior and vices out there, but that’s not the aim of this blog. I’m discussing why people should focus more on more productive things than wasting it on DOTA that has subliminal evil meaning.

DOTA at least tries to address the problem of evil, while religion could not answer the question in more then 50.000 years. I believe that is why many people play, and will continue to play while religion will burn out and die in time.

That’s why you don’t see religions today representing God. Even in Christianity, there is much confusion. But time will come when God will directly intervene into the affairs of men. May God speed that day!

I, for one, am convinced
what really got me was that dota forces you to destroy God the father and his way of life
That I simply cannot do.
In fact, I’ll never play any videogame again, ever (reason 5&4)
Ofc I’ll also have to stop anything else that doesn’t strictly improve my mind or my health (going to church comes to mind, lots of time wasted)

this article brought me to pieces, im from christian education, truth be told, Dota people into horrible people, lot of toxicity and racism, people use the name of God in the most disrespectful ways that you cant imagine, theres no respec for God or any human being.
I knew i was in sin, but i ignore my conscience because of addiction, i was turning in something brute, like demonic, i start to enjoy being toxic, is was feeling my body give me warnings to stop it even my sanity was compromise.
Yes theres a lot of dark stuff in dota (demons and demons possesion),. buy then i remember one day i had to choose bettewen continue to play dota e lose everything (including my soul to hell) or stop and save my soul. And a decide to stop, and this article just give more reason to not only stop but to abhor it. God use your words to break me,i feel sorrow, i was craing for the game but after reading the desire suddlen transform into sorrow then abhorence and hate.
THANK Yo»OU
Just one thing that i lack in this article was more scripure

God wants us to use our time productively. He wants us to ensure we are using the life He gave us the right way. Though it is not wrong to enjoy life, we can do it in other ways and not by playing satanic inspired video games like DOTA.

I already played this game for 9 years (which is now named “Dota 2”) , but now my eyes were opened by Him about the truth of this game , and i really agreed with you man , we have to expose this more dude, so many Child of God was blinded by this game , where is my friend too.